The present invention pertains to a wrapping apparatus, and in particular to a rotary stretch wrapping apparatus that provides a continuous wrap about a product.
Stretch wrapping is primarily employed to package manufactured goods in a continuous plastic wrap for protection during shipping and storage. A rotary stretch wrapping apparatus operates by rotating a plastic wrapping film about a product passing axially through the apparatus. This procedure results in the plastic film being spirally wrapped tightly about the entire product. An example of one stretch wrapping apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,322 to Lancaster et al. and entitled ROTATABLE FILM WRAPPING APPARATUS WITH WRAP CARRYING MECHANISM.
Although the plastic wrap provides ample protection for the goods during shipping, problems have been experienced in removing the film from the products. To provide effective protection for the goods, the wrapping films are typically quite strong and tough to resist tearing or subsequent stretching. Hence, removal of the wrap has usually been accomplished by manually cutting the wrap with a knife or other sharp implement.
The manual removal of the wrap has proven to be unsatisfactory to many users. The products are often nicked, cut, or otherwise damaged during the removal of the wrap. The situation is especially acute in regard to finished products and products shaped such that the film contiguously lies against the entire periphery of the product (e.g., a table top). Moreover, the manual cutting procedure poses a risk of personal injury.